White Tea

Wild Tree Purple Moonlight

Wild Tree Purple Moonlight White Tea from Jinggu, Spring 2018 from Yunnan Sourcing.

There’s a lot to unpack in that very long name.

Starting from the end, the tea is from “Jinngu” County in the Simao Prefecture of Yunnan Provice of China. The Simao Prefecture is also sometimes called “Pu’Er” and it is the heart of Puerh tea production in China.

This is a “White Tea”, meaning the buds and leaves are picked, briefly faded, then quickly dried.

It is made in the “Moonlight” style, which is a style of white tea made in Yunnan which is allowed to oxidize slightly more than is normal during the fading, expressing more of the fruit character of the tea.

In the more mountainous regions of Puerh, there are trees whose buds and leaves are higher in anthocyanins, it is believed in reaction to the elevation. These trees are called “Purple”. These tea trees are often used to make PuErh and Black Teas, but the anthocyanins contribute to making them rather on the bitter sides of those styles. (FYI, there are three distinct types of purple tea varietals in teas on the Yunnan Sourcing site, so it can be a bit confusing.)

Finally, it is “Wild Tree”, which means that the trees from which these buds and leaves are harvested grow outside of the commercial Puerh plantations. It is my understanding that this particular tea is only picked once a year and in a fairly small amount. It often sells out quickly on the Yunnan Sourcing site.

When you open the bag and smell the dry leaves, the aroma is amazing. Dried stonefruit and leather. Completely different from the mild floral or earthy perfume you might be used to from most white teas.

The only other white tea I’ve tried which is remotely similar is the Jingmai Sun-Dried “Three Aroma” Bai Mu Dan, and even that isn’t really close.

The wet tea is true to the dry aroma, as is the flavor of the steeped beverage. Dried stonefruit and earthy, leathery flavors. If you push it, and brew it hot, you will start to express a bit of the bitterness which can be present in other styles. It has a haunting length of flavor and the leaves, brewed carefully, last for many steeps.

If you like White tea, but are looking for a truly special tea with a little more zest and variety, this is a great one to try. Keep an eye out for it on the Yunnan Sourcing Instagram, Website, or Newsletter.

#Cha #Tea #Puerh #YunnanSourcing #WhiteTea #PurpleTea #YeShengCha

Wild Tree Purple Moonlight
Wild Tree Purple Moonlight
Wild Tree Purple Moonlight
Wild Tree Purple Moonlight
Wild Tree Purple Moonlight

Baihaoyinzhen

So, one of the fun things about writing about tea on instagram is that there is a pretty active community of tea drinkers and tea marketers.

As I mentioned before, it’s not that unusual to post about a type of tea and have someone message you and say, “If you liked their Baihaoyinzhen, you need to try my Baihaoyinzhen!” Which is pretty fun.

And that is exactly what happened here.

I had posted about the Yunnan Sourcing (@yunnan_sourcing) Fuding “Bai Hao Yin Zhen” Silver Needles White Tea and another user, @yinxianghuaxiatea, immediately messaged me telling I needed to try their White Tea from Fuding.

I was kind of finishing up with White Tea by this point, but I thought, “Why Not?” Plus, they had some other pretty tempting teas listed on their Instagram Account.

Anyway, if you are looking for a very good Fuding White Tea, you should think about ordering from Yin Xiang Hua Xia Tea, as this is about the best White Tea of this type I’ve tried. Amazingly clean taste, great re-steepability, and a length of aftertaste that just won’t quit. Not to mention a nice zippy buzz.

#Baihaoyinzhen #FujianTea #FudingTea #WhiteTea #Cha #Tea #DrinkTea

Bai Hao Yin Zhen
Bai Hao Yin Zhen
Bai Hao Yin Zhen
Bai Hao Yin Zhen
Bai Hao Yin Zhen

Aged Fuding Shou Mei White Tea Dragon Ball

When posting the previous Yunnan White Teas, online tea acquaintances @unytea.store suggested that I would be remiss to skip trying some White Tea from Fuding, Fujian, the home of white tea.
Fortunately, @yunnan_sourcing sells a few types of Fujianese white tea.
This is a fun “Aged Fuding Shou Mei White Tea Dragon Ball”. Dragon Balls are 7g single serving compressed tea balls.
In this particular case, these are handmade by the Yunnan Sourcing’s proprietor’s In-Laws. He even saves a portion of the money he makes on them and gives it to his in-laws every year in their Red Envelopes! Nice!
Anyway, Shou Mei White tea contains more leaf than the pure bud white teas, and this particular white tea is aged for several years before being formed into Dragon Balls.
Aged white tea is prized for it’s mellow, sweet character and easiness on the stomach. This tea is particularly sweetly floral and reminds me a bit of the of the honeyed flavor of chamomile tea. That is, until the buzz kicks in.
I also got a pair of slightly nicer tea cups, of a more traditional size and shape. You should stop by my desk around 10am, and I’ll share.
#Fuding #WhiteTea #Dragonball #YunnanSourcing #tasseography #Cha #Tea #TeaFriends

Ai Lao Mountain Jade Needle (Slight Return)

Sometimes I look at other #teafriends’ gaiwan photos and think, “Erik, you’re underdosing.” Then I up the leaves a bit, and whoops, buzzing away.

This is a return to the @yunnan_sourcing Ai Lao Mountain Jade Needle. I’ve finally got the water temp where it should be for this fairly delicate tea, and am finding it pleasantly complex. If you like Chinese green teas, this is a good gateway White Tea. Less subtle than most white teas, but more delicate than some greens. Incredible length of flavor and a surprising capacity for multiple steeps.

#cha #tea #whitetea #jadeneedle #YunnanSourcing #YunnanTea #tasseography

Jing Gu Yang Ta Yunnan Bai Mu Dan White Tea

Jing Gu Yang Ta Yunnan Bai Mu Dan White Tea, Spring 2018 via Yunnan Sourcing.
Instead of the more common Camellia sinensis, this tea is made from a wild species of Camellia, Camellia taliensis.

After the last several bud only white teas, you can see this one is the ‘one bud, one leaf’ style of tea.

This is a subtle, sweet and grassy tea with an herbal/mint after taste and a zippy caffeine content.

The notes on the Yunnan Sourcing website suggest floral/fruity notes may be expressed in later steeps. Not sure if I get those, but will continue to steep.

#Cha #Tea #CamelliaTaliensis #YunnanTea #JingguYangTa #YunnanSourcing #WhiteTea #tasseography

White Tea (Reprise)

After challenging myself to tasting through several days of white teas from the Yunnan Sourcing Spring 2018 First Flush sampler, I have some observations.

First, temperature is super important with white teas. They really need to be brewed around 180F or you risk overexpressing cooked, vegetal flavors in the teas. The bud only teas are a little more forgiving, but the bud-leaf teas should be handled carefully. I am going back through a second time, paying more attention, and will update my notes on the blog.

The other thing that is hard to judge at first is amount. Since loose leaf white tea isn’t usually rolled or formed, by volume, you need to use more than compressed teas. Takes a bit to get the hang of how much to use, unless you are using a scale.

White teas are pretty subtle. This was my first time drinking fresh brewed white teas. Given the simplicity of the processing, I was very curious about this expression of tea flavors.

They probably will never be my favorite teas, but, brewed carefully, they are quite interesting and complex, while being understated and elegant at the same time. The opposite end of the spectrum from ripe Pu-Erh.

For the record, my favorites (in no particular order) were the Ai Lao Mountain Jade Needle, Silver Needles of Feng Qing, and Jingmai Three Aroma Bai Mu Dan.

Now I just have a bunch more white tea to drink. Anyone? Bueller? I hear it’s a nice day for a… white tea party. Come on!

#WhiteTea #YunnanSourcing #Cha #Tea #tasseography #StartAgain

Ai Lao Mountain Jade Needle White Tea

Spring 2018 Yunnan Sourcing Ai Lao Mountain Jade Needle White Tea.

Today’s white tea is much closer to a green tea in character than yesterday’s Silver Needles. Strong green vegetal character, reminding me a bit of the smell of cooked mild green chiles or raw potatoes. But not in a bad way.

A pleasant lightening buzz centered in the upper chest and behind the eyes.

Which brings me to another tea myth, that green and white teas have significantly less caffeine than black teas. All tea categories are made from pretty much the same source material, so all have caffeine. White tea, Green Tea, Black Tea, etc. By weight, the caffeine content is, more or less, the same across tea categories. However, with broken leaf teas, the caffeine is much more available to be immediately dissolved than with whole leaf teas. One steep of broken leaf tea will have more caffeine than one steep of whole leaf tea. However, multiple steeps of whole leaf tea may express more caffeine, (and the other substances in the tea leaves,) than a single steep of broken leaf. Final trivia, since with powdered teas, like matcha, you actually drink the leaf with the tea, those tea drinks can have more caffeine than steeped teas!

The Chinese talk about the feelings and energy they get from different teas using the term “cha qi”. “Tea Energy” or “Tea Power”. It is related to caffeine rush, but not entirely the same.

Different teas can give you different sensations, some pleasant, some not so pleasant. Pay attention to how you feel after drinking a particular tea. If it isn’t a nice feeling, maybe it isn’t a tea for you.

#WhiteTea #YunnanSourcing #YunnanTea #Cha #Tea #tasseography

Organic Silver Needle White Tea, Two Hills Tea, Yunnan, China, via the Rainbow Grocery bulk section.

All tea is made from the young leaf buds and leaves of the Cammelia sinensis plant.

The major differences between the categories of tea, (white, green, yellow, black/red, and dark/Pu-Erh,) are due to the methods in which the leaves are processed after picking.

White Tea is the most simply processed of all teas. Tea buds are picked, allowed to wither in the sun and slightly oxidized, then dried quickly with low heat.

The fact that white tea leaves aren’t rolled or formed, means the dried leaves are fragile and prone to breaking. Avoid broken tea. Broken tea leaves tend to make a harsher steeped beverage.

A good general rule is, the darker the tea, the hotter the water. The water for the very dark Pu-Erh should be just off the boil. For white tea, let your water sit for a good few minutes after boiling to cool before steeping your tea. (If you like to measure, the water for white tea should be around 180F or 80C.)

Like with high quality green tea, you can fudge the brewing process a bit with white tea. You don’t really need a separate brewing vessel. You can either brew it right in your glass or in a share pitcher.

Add a generous pinch of leaves to the pitcher or glass, cover with water, wait a few minutes. When you’ve drunk it down half way, add some more appropriately heated water. Continue until it tastes more like water than tea.

White tea is subtly colored and flavored. It should have a lingering sweet flavor with overtones of fruit, herbs, or grass.

This tea is on the grassy/briny side, with some fruit-ish and perfume-like overtones. Sandalwood, maybe? Pleasant, but I can’t quite decide if it is more compelling or interesting. Nice length of flavor, though.

#WhiteTea #SilverNeedles #Cha #Tea #tasseography